Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I spent the morning with kindergarten at Shoals Theatre and Diebert Park in Florence, then the afternoon at 50's Day at Webster. Have I said how blessed I am to have a husband that works so hard that I get to have all the fun everyday? If not, I'm saying it now!
We saw the Gingerbread Players perform A Clown's Play and Peter Cottontail, and they were both wonderful. Mia's friend Sammi and Jackson's friend Jacqueline were in Peter Cottontail (they are sisters) and they both did a terrific job! After the plays we rode over to the park, where I dropped the kids lunches, kissed Parker goodbye, and picked Everett up from Nana's house.

Trey, T'kython, and Parker ready for the show!

From there we went to the sock hop at Webster for 50's Day. We hand jived, hula hooped, and limbo-d the afternoon away. The kids cooled down with coke floats and a movie. Everett and I had a great time watching all the kids play. He also was glad to get to join in on the snacks!

Read Across America, aka Drive Mom Crazy Week, was the end of February. All 3 schools kids celebrating reading and Dr. Seuss's birthday by dressing up and having fun with books! Jeremy was out of town for a few days during all this, so I felt like I deserved a medal just for getting the right kid dressed in the right outfit for the right day at the right school! Whew, here we go . . .

Monday

Parker: Wacky Sock Day

Jackson: PJ Day

Mia: Stripe Day

Tuesday

Jackson: Rock Star Day

Jackson's favorite teacher, Mr. Jarmon

Parker: Cat in the Hat "Hat" Day

Mia: PJ Day

Wednesday

Parker: Wacky Day

Mia: actually had school picture day but wanted her pic made at home anyway

go figure

Jackson: Cowboy Day

I forgot to get one of him, so I had to swipe this one from carpool!

Thursday

Jackson: Book Character Day
(he's Stanley Yelnats from Holes)

Mia: Team Day

Parker's principal gave all the kids Dr. Seuss shirts on this day, but I forgot to get his pic when he got home. By Thursday I was completely over this week, ha!

Friday

Jackson: Crazy Hat Day

Parker: PJ Day

(I may or may not have had my own PJ day as well. Don't judge me)

Mia: Cowgirl Day

Well, we made it through another Read Across America! Can't wait til next year (sort of)!

Yes, our oldest is 11! It's hard on a mom to have her oldest baby and her youngest baby have birthdays just 2 weeks apart. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! Jeremy and I debated a long time on Jackson's present this year. He has lobbied long and hard for a phone. With much contemplation, we felt like it was a good idea for him and us. There are conditions, rules, and limitations, but for now it's working out well. It's nice to get a "Love you" text for no reason when he's out with friends.
Pop and Nana have a tradition of taking out the birthday person (and fam) to dinner. We always know Jackson's will be something uncoventional. This year he chose Ihop, which isn't as unconventional as it was inconvenient! The closest Ihop is an hour away in Huntsville. Fortunately it all worked out pretty well since mom and Carley were going there anyway to have senior pictures made that day. We picked up Pop after school and headed to Huntsville. We stopped by Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Sports Authority to let Jackson spend some of his birthday money. Then we headed to Ihop. We met Nana and Carley there and feasted on pancakes, waffles, french toast, and everything else breakfast-y. After dinner Jackson opted to ride home with Pop, Nana, and Carley. They went by Toys-R-Us and Jackson bought an Xbox game, then we all met back up at home.
We also had a mini party at our house with family and friends. Jackson is still debating on what to do with his school buddies for a party, so we got cake and grilled out one night just for fun. Happy birthday Jackson!

Our baby turned 3 on February 15th. We are ever amazed at how big he seems. Not physically really, because he's still our little squirt, but his speech and the way he puts thoughts together are well beyond what I think of as typical 3 year old. He wants to be a big boy, but still wants me to hold him, which is fine with me! He runs everywhere he goes, and loves to be "big" like his brothers and sister. Mia is his favorite right now, and he hates dropping her off at school. He loves to talk on the phone, and gets really mad if someone doesn't remember to say bye to him specifically. We still have a house full of cars, trains, trucks, and tractors, but he is branching out (with the help of his brothers) to wrestling, super heroes, and video games. As the 4th child, he is just kind of shoved into the other kids schedules, but it's fine with him. In his mind, all the school activities, ball practices, etc. is just more action for him! He also wants to dress himself. Everyday. Multiple times a day. In shorts. Even though it's almost April, it's still freezing here in North Alabama. Everett doesn't care. As soon as I pulled out the Spring clothes, he was all over it. He says he likes "naked legs".
He debated long and hard on his cake this year. He went from train to tractor to monster truck to dragon (?) and finally back to tractor. We got together at Nana and Pop's house to celebrate with Matt, Kristen, Kenzie, Isaac, Ezra, Prentiss, Grandma, and his best "frands" Kane and Lexi, and their parents Bill and Deanna. He got lots of tractor stuff, clothes, guns, big boy underwear, and a power wheels four wheeler. For some reason he calls the four wheeler his red redder. I'm guessing because it's red? I'm sure it makes perfect sense to him, ha!
With this birthday also comes the end of an era in the Robison house. We are officially a baby free zone. It's bittersweet for me. No more bottles, pacis, or diapers. It's hard to believe we've been buying diapers for over 11 years! God has blessed us with wonderful children, and we're having such a great time watching them grow. Happy Birthday Everett!

Monday, March 25, 2013

We kicked off this year's Valentine's Day with our annual breakfast. On the menu this year were cinnamon rolls (with white, pink, and red icing and sprinkles) and strawberries. Another year when it fell on a work/school day, so it was a hectic morning.

All 3 kids also had parties at school, so I was scrambling to get everywhere I needed to be that day. Fortunately (for me) we didn't have to make any "mailboxes" at home this year, so I didn't scramble trying to find shoe boxes and red paper to decorate. Small victories. Jackson's party was early, so we did breakfast foods for them. Mia and Parker's parties were at the exact same time that afternoon, so I sent goodies with Mia and ended up going to help with Parker's class. Mia wasn't too happy about it, but like I told her, it was Parker's first one, and I've been to many of hers. She felt better after getting home with a sack full of cards and candy!

4 of my Valentines

For Parker's class we had a "fancy" Valentine banquet. Heart sandwiches, petite fors, chocolate strawberries, etc. We put tealights in jars for their tables and all the kids were dressed up cute. They had a good time, especially trading cards with each other.

Yes, it's now been 3 months since I sat down to record our family happenings. A quarter of this new year has already passed, and it seems like it's just begun. Life has been busy, busy, and the chances I've had to sit down have been few and far between. When they do roll around, that's exactly what I want to do. Sit. Not type or sift through pictures, or anything else I love, but just sit down and breathe. That being said, I've got to get these blogs down before my mom brain kicks in and I forget all the details. Here's hoping that I don't wait another 3 months for an update! Oh, and in the mean time I turned another year older and managed (somehow) to get 2012's edition of "Life With the Robison's" ordered.